BALTIMORE -- This year's Opening Day will have a different feel for Orioles manager Buck Showalter.
It's the first baseball season opener Showalter has had without his mother, Lina Carrie Spires Showalter, who passed away in early October at the age of 87.
"I was thinking about that the last few days. Picked up the phone about three times to call her," Showalter said. "So, all of you call your mom, for me."
Showalter's club will open 2016 at home versus the Twins, and the O's manager is no stranger to how important the beginning of a baseball season is to the city and entire fan base.
"The anticipation, we are putting something out there we want our fans to be proud of," he said.
You are doing something important, you are going to be critiqued and our guys are all looking forward to playing some games. ... They spent a lot of time preparing for this, and it's not just tomorrow. It's a new beginning."